


Talk in Everlasting Words

by totalnovaktrash



Series: The Words!Verse [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Gabe vs. the Empty, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Temporary Character Death, The Empty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-17
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-06-11 18:07:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15321243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/totalnovaktrash/pseuds/totalnovaktrash
Summary: Soulmate AU where the most significant thing your soulmate will ever say to you is written on your wrist.Dean’s is just his name because only Castiel could possibly put such meaning into a single word.Sam has “I’m not running anymore.” tattooed on the inside of his right wrist.





	1. Cuffs

**Author's Note:**

> Super special shout out to LadyShadowphyre for the title <3

Dean didn’t like his soul mark.  
  
Most people had romantic things written on their wrist. Like “I love you” or “You the only one for me” or “I think you might be my end game” or some sappy shit like that. Not that Dean particularly cared about romantic crap. But your soul mark was supposed to be the most significant thing your soulmate would ever say to you.  
  
And Dean had his own name on his wrist.  
  
It was so dumb! How could _his name_ be the most significant thing his soulmate would say? It was his _name_. Anyone who ever met him would say his name, how was he supposed to know?  
  
Dean knew that Sammy had the phrase “I’m not running anymore” tattooed around his wrist even though he had covered it up with a mourning cuff. Poor kid, not even 25 and he’d already lost his soulmate.

* * *

  
Jess wasn’t his soulmate.  
  
He’d been so in love, so happy with her, but she’d never said those words.  
  
I’m not running anymore.  
  
She’d never said them, not once.  
  
Sam bought a mourning cuff to cover his mark anyway. Jess had gotten killed because of him and that had hurt enough. He couldn’t let anything bad happen to his soulmate because he was cursed.  
  
He wouldn’t.

* * *

Dean really wished Cas would just _shut up_.  
  
Cas with his stupid eyes and his stupid hair and his stupid face and his stupid tendency to say his name over and over again like it was some sort of prayer.  
  
His soul mark tingled beneath the brown cuff and Dean hated it.  
  
This was _Cas_. He couldn’t be Dean’s soulmate. Angels didn’t even have souls, did they? Could someone without a soul have a soulmate?  
  
Not that it mattered, of course, because no junkless angel could be his soulmate.  
  
“Hello, Dean.”  
  
His mark tingled.  
  
_Dammit, Cas._

* * *

  
It wasn’t Ruby either.  
  
He didn’t expect it to be, demons probably couldn’t be soulmates anyway.  
  
But maybe he hoped, even for a little bit.  
  
_I’m not running anymore._  
  
It didn’t sound like something Ruby would say.  
  
Sam didn’t take the black cuff of his wrist. It belonged there.

* * *

The zombie apocalypse was terrifying for a number of reasons.  
  
One: The Croatoan virus was a freaking nightmare  
  
Two: Baby. Poor Baby.  
  
Three: His future self was a douche canoe.  
  
Four: Druggie Cas didn’t say his name right.  
  
Druggie Cas had a soulmark, Dean knew because of the brown cuff. The ‘I acknowledge the fact that I have a soulmate, but I don’t want to deal with it’ cuff. The same cuff both he and his future self were wearing.  
  
Druggie Cas didn’t say his name right. His soul mark didn’t tingle like when the real Cas said it.  
  
Maybe it was because Druggie Cas was so different from the real one. From  _his_ Cas.  
  
Later that night, Dean asked Cas if angels had soul marks.  
  
“A few do. I am one of them.”  
  
“Well, what does yours say?”  
  
“That... is not of import.”  
  
So Dean dropped it. But a few weeks later Dean caught a glimpse of the mark when Cas was distracted by his hunger for burgers.  
  
It looked suspiciously like it said, _Don’t ever change._    
  
The next day, Sam asked Dean where his cuff was.  
  
Dean ignored him.

* * *

Angels could have soul marks.  
  
This was a development.  
  
He had always assumed that humans were the only ones. Monsters never had marks, humans who got turned into monsters lost their marks.  
  
But angels could have them.  
  
Tricksters couldn’t. But angels could.

_I’m not running anymore.  
_

He still wore his black cuff.  
  
Gabriel wore a brown one. Sam wondered why that bothered him.

* * *

They never acknowledged it.

Dean  _knew_ the words on Cas’ wrist and Cas could  _see_ what was on Dean’s. But neither of them would outright acknowledge it.

Dean wouldn't acknowledge anything.

He wouldn’t acknowledge how much he worries when Cas wasn’t with them or how much he wanted to give up the stupid game and grab Cas by the stupid trench coat and…

But it would never work.

They couldn’t ruin what they had for the hope of something better. Dean wouldn’t give his friendship with Cas up for anything.

Not even that.

He could deal with what they had now.

* * *

It wasn’t Amelia either.

He wanted them to be her words. He wanted her to be the one. He wanted that apple pie life.

But the words weren’t her’s.

_I’m not running anymore._

She never said them.

It made the decision to join Dean again easier.

Sam put his black cuff back on.

* * *

They gave Mary John’s old black cuff and Mary left.

That was fine.

_She would’ve liked Eileen. Too bad they never got to meet._

Cas was brainwashed by Satan’s unborn baby and left.

That was fine.

_They needed to be careful. Anyone who ever got to close to the Winchesters always got burned._

Lucifer stabbed Cas in the back and Mary vanished into the Apocalypse universe leaving Sam and Dean behind.

Dean bought a black cuff.

That was decidedly not fine.

* * *

One of the first things Sam noticed about Gabriel was that his brown cuff had been replaced by deep gashes that made his soul mark unreadable. That alone made Sam’s blood boil.

Not to mention, of course, the fact that Asmodeus had sewn his freaking mouth shut.

Sam had never imagined that he would miss Gabriel’s voice so much.

But Gabriel wouldn’t speak.

“And sure, yeah, hookers and Monte Carlo sounds great, but your family needs you. Jack, your nephew, needs you. The world needs you. We need you. Gabriel,” Sam nearly choked on the emotion in the next three words, “ _I_ need you.”

In the confusion and relief of Gabriel regaining his sense of self, no one noticed that Gabriel’s wrist had begun to heal.

* * *

It really should’ve surprised Sam more than it did.

Everyone had made it out of the Apocalypse universe. Everyone but one person.

And while everyone was celebrating the victory, Sam was staring at the brown cuff Gabriel had pressed into his hands moments before turning to fight Michael.

Of course they would be his last words.

“I’m not running anymore,” Gabriel had said, taking off the cuff that covered his mark.

Sam hadn’t even seen it. He wondered what it was. What had been the most significant thing he said?

The hunter clenched his teeth. No, they’d been down this road with Gabriel before. He would find out for himself because Gabriel wasn’t dead.

Sam swapped his black cuff for Gabriel’s brown one.

He couldn’t be.


	2. Marks

_Gabriel…_

_Gabriel…_

_Gabriel…_

_… thought about praying to you before… thought it would send the wrong message… didn’t want to make you face… but Michael’s gone now… doesn’t seem to make a difference… something still missing… my whole life without a soulmate… thought I’d be fine… I didn’t need anyone… was wrong…_

_...Gabriel, I need you._

Gabriel woke to his wrist on fire. He yelped in pain and jumped to his feet, but there was nothing wrong with him. His wrist was fine. It looked the same, it still had his mark. The mark he had tried so hard to hide since leaving Heaven. The words he thought he’d never hear anyone say _and mean._

_Gabriel, I need you._

The archangel looked around and found nothing. It was just nothingness as far as he could see.

The Empty. The Void. The space that existed before any universe. The gap between worlds.

And, if Cassie’s story about being dead was true, his ticket home.

“I’m coming, Sam,” Gabriel promised, taking his kazoo out of his jacket pocket. “I’m coming back.”

* * *

Dean had been very quiet since they had gotten him back and Castiel was getting increasingly worried.

He knew that Dean had been through much at the hands of Michael. But Castiel had expected… words. Anger, even. But upon entering the bunker, Dean had retreated to his room and no one had seen him in the two days since.

Castiel stood in front of the hunter’s door. “Dean?” he called out. He could hear a hiss of pain from the other side of the door. “Are you alright?”

“Get lost.”

“Dean.” Another hiss. “Let me in.”

“I’m fine.”

“No, you are not. I _will_ stand outside this door until you open it.”

Dean opened the door.

* * *

The Empty was very… empty.

Once or twice, Gabriel thought he caught a glimpse of someone lying on the ground, but they were gone before he could get a better look.

So he kept on walking.

Supposedly every angel and every demon who had ever died was asleep in this realm. Gabriel wondered if he should be careful about who he woke.

Every angel who ever died coming back would surely give heaven the power it needed to run, wouldn’t it?

And it would get him back to Sam. That was what really mattered here.

Gabriel looked down at his wrist. Sam needed him.

He wondered what Sam’s mark said. He had always worn that mourning cuff of his. Had he thought his soulmate was someone else? Weren’t humans supposed to _know_?

There was only one way to find out. Gabriel raised the kazoo.

“Do you angels have no concept of _peace_?”

* * *

“Told you. M’fine, Cas.”

Dean certainly didn’t look fine.

Castiel barged passed the hunter into the room and crossed his arms. “I understand that you have been through hell, but Dean, shutting everyone out isn’t going to help.”

Dean clenched his jaw. “I just can’t be around people right now.”

“People,” Castiel pressed, “or me?” Dean didn’t say anything. “Why are you avoiding me, Dean?”

He gritted his teeth. “It hurts.”

“What hurts?”

“My mark. You know that feeling when your leg’s asleep and then you bang it against a chair or whatever?” Dean swallowed. “Michael, he… he did something. I couldn’t feel the mark anymore and now it hurts.”

Castiel put his hand on Dean’s shoulder. “Please, talk to me. What happened?”

* * *

Gabriel turned around and found himself face to face with himself.

The Entity.

“So is this how it’s gonna be?” Gabriel snarked. “You gonna try to kick my ass?”

“No,” the Entity replied. “I’m going to let you wander. I don’t have to worry. You will tire and go back to sleep on your own.”

“You think so?”

“Why would you go back? Who is left in your world to disappoint? It is the same reason you won’t blow that horn.” Gabriel looked at his kazoo and the Entity continued. “How would you face your brethren knowing what you did? How you left?”

“You’re wrong,” Gabriel told his doppelgänger and stormed away.

The Entity smiled as it watching him.

It knew better.

* * *

“It… it wasn’t so bad at first because I wasn’t aware. He had to knock me out and shove me down to take over.  But once I regained consciousness or whatever…

“Jimmy once said being your vessel with like being chained to a comet. Man, this was so much worse. I was fighting to take back control and I was losing. But then you and Sam found me that first time and you said my name.

“I can feel it when you say it to me. My mark, it tingles. You called my name and begged me to cast him out. I could feel it. It almost worked, too.

“After that, he did something to the mark. When you came back and tried to bargain for me or whatever, you said my name again. Over and over you said it but I couldn’t feel anything. And when he was gone…”

“The feeling returned?” Castiel guessed.

“It shouldn’t feel like this, Cas. You’re my soulmate, it shouldn’t hurt!”

Dean’s mouth snapped shut when he realized what he had said. That he was the first one since they had discovered each other’s marks to admit what they mean out loud.

_Castiel was his soulmate._

* * *

Gabriel was trying very hard not to think about what the Entity had said.

He looked down at his kazoo. It was still a kazoo. And as long as it was still a kazoo, it couldn’t do its job.

He’d been wandering for what seemed like hours and he hadn’t changed it back. He hadn’t even used it _as a kazoo_.

Gabriel knew he couldn’t leave the empty without his brothers and sisters. Heaven needed angels and not only did he have access to ever angel ever killed, but the means to revive them.

And yet, he was still holding a kazoo.

Why hadn’t he done his job? What did he care what the other angels thought of his reasons for abandoning heaven? And them. When they clearly needed him the most.

Could he really face them knowing why he had left? His selfish, selfish reasons…

With thoughts swirling around his head, Gabriel hardly noticed the Entity reappear nearby.

* * *

Castiel blinked at Dean. “I… I wasn’t aware we were supposed to say that out loud.”

Dean sighed. “Of course you weren’t. ‘Cause I’m the freakin’ moron who didn’t say anything about it before.”

The angel opened his mouth to speak then closed it again, unsure of what to say or if he should be saying anything.

Dean still wouldn’t meet his eyes.

“When you said yes, I knew you would not be coming back. It was very hard to convince myself of the fact that I would one day speak to you again as just you. And now you won’t even speak to me for fear of pain.” Castiel had to consciously prevent himself from saying the other man’s name aloud. He reached out and angled Dean’s face towards his. “I would never hurt you.”

“I know,” Dean admitted. He glanced down at Castiel’s wrist, then looked back at his face. “Cas, don’t ever change.”

Castiel pressed his lips against Dean’s.

* * *

“You see?” the Entity whispered. “There is nothing for you in life. You have no one left to leave, Gabriel. Just sleep. No one will miss one flighty Archangel. Aren’t you tired of running away?”

_“Go. I can buy some time.”_

_“Gabriel, don’t,” Sam had begged._

_“All I did on Earth was run.” Gabriel took off his cuff and pressed it into Sam’s hands. “I’m not running anymore.”_

“Yes,” Gabriel admitted, tightening his grip on the golden kazoo as it shifted forms. “So it’s a good thing I’m not running anymore.”

“No!” the Entity shouted as Gabriel raised his horn to his lips and took a deep breath.

The resulting sound echoed through the darkness and all around them, Gabriel saw the bodies of his fallen siblings begin to fade into view.

The Entity grabbed Gabriel by the jacket. “What have you done?”

Gabriel smirked. “Do you want me to do it again?”

His doppelgänger snarled and tossed him to the ground. The last thing Gabriel saw was a blonde vessel that he believed belonged to Balthazar roll over and open his eyes.

Satisfied his work was done, Gabriel didn’t fight the darkness as it overtook him. The angels were waking up and they’d come home soon enough, but he had a Sasquatch to catch.

* * *

Dean liked to joke that not even an earthquake could tear Sam away from his books, but when the bunker shook Sam was the first person out of his seat to investigate. He ran down the halls, barely registering both Dean and Castiel joining him as he passed Dean’s room.

Sam threw the door to the bunker open, looking for the source of the disturbance.

“Sammy, what’s going on?” Dean asked.

“I thought…” Sam scanned the area. “I felt…”

“Sam,” Castiel said, gently.

And then Sam saw him a few yards away, struggling to his feet. Gabriel looked up and locked eyes with Sam.

He grinned and within a few moments, they were in each other’s arms.

“You’re here,” Sam breathed.

“I told you, Sam,” Gabriel said. “I’m not running anymore.”

Sam laughed. He took off Gabriel’s cuff and pressed his forehead against his angel’s. “That’s good. Because Gabriel, I need you.”

**Author's Note:**

> [come scream with me on tumblr](https://dreamhunter-trash.tumblr.com/)


End file.
